Chapter 53: Debt Collection
Zhuo Feiyang was very furious at the fact that Chu Li was deft at gaining ladies’ favors, so much that even a highly prestigious woman like Chief Su and Sister Zhao Ying liked him too… As he thought of it, he scoffed before he gulped down two cups of wine.
Bai Zhijie was silent.
It was a complicated matter. The fact that Chu Li was getting close to Chief Su Ru was a nuisance. If his Master Zhuo Feiyang were to hurt Chu Li, Chief Su Ru would definitely not let him off lightly.
As the Chief of the Jade Guardian Island, all she needed was to issue a command and Master Zhuo Feiyang would be banished from the Public House.
Zhuo Feiyang lowered his head and feasted on the food. Bai Zhijie tasted two spoonfuls of food before he started to eat quickly as well. Every dish here looked delicate, yet the serving size was not too large and the taste was scrumptious.
The two men transformed their worries into appetite, and soon they had finished a whole table of dishes. After that, they drank some wine while they still burped from all the food they just had. They looked around them casually and noticed that all the tables around them were filled with people. Every now and then, the pretty ladies shuttled past them holding wine jars, teapots, or plates as they busily served their customers.
They were all dressed in a pearl-white gown, looking plain and elegant. Each of them had a faint fragrance on them, which smelled very soothing and calming. The scene of pretty ladies moving about in front of them was such a beauty to behold.
Bai Zhijie sighed.
This kind of pub would never have to worry about the lack of customers, especially men.
Zhuo Feiyang hit his table and yelled, “Waitress!”
Two beautiful ladies emerged in front of him with a gentle smile. “Our two guests, are you done with your food? Would you like some fruits as dessert?”
Zhuo Feiyang nodded. “That would do too! However, we didn’t bring any money.”
The two ladies were taken aback by that. This was the first time that they had encountered this.
They looked at each other in the eye. Then, one of them spoke, “My two Masters, quit teasing me!”
Zhuo Feiyang replied coldly, “I’m not joking, we really don’t have any money!”
“Then… we can accept this sword as an exchange to pay for your meal.” One of the ladies pointed at the long sword on his belt.
Zhuo Feiyang smiled smugly. “This is my guardian sword. Wherever I go, it’ll follow. If I ever lose it, so will I lose my life!”
“What do you reckon then, Master?” The lady smiled. “You can’t possibly plan on leaving without paying, am I right?”
“Yes, this is a meal that I will eat for free, one way or another!” Zhuo Feiyang laughed coldly. “How do you girls plan to deal with me?”
One of the ladies left the table.
Zhuo Feiyang looked at the lady with his arms crossed and he continued to smirk. “Don’t tell me you have a bouncer here?”
The lady who remained shook her head and smiled. “You’ve misunderstood us, Master. We will report this to our cashier and the cashier will decide how to deal with this. We’re just waitresses, we don’t have the final say.”
Zhuo Feiyang looked at her deep in the eyes. However, she could still manage a warm smile when facing such confrontation; where did Chu Li find these girls? They were indeed impressive!
After a short while, Zhao Ying appeared in front of Zhuo Feiyang. She looked at him with her creased eyebrows. “Senior Zhuo?”
Upon seeing Zhao Ying, Zhuo Feiyang blushed but his face turned gloomy very quickly. It seemed like Zhao Ying and Chu Li were working together again. Junior Sister Zhao Ying really did not know how to look after herself. Of all the people in the world, why did she have to choose to mingle herself with Chu Li?
When he thought of it, he felt a sense of remorse and hatred at the same time. He scoffed at her with a gloomy face. “Sister Zhao Ying, you’re the cashier here?”
Zhao Ying nodded. “Yeah, you can say that.”
“Isn’t this Chu Li’s pub?”
“I help him to manage it.”
“Who is he to you? Why would you do him such a favor?” Zhuo Feiyang sneered. “Don’t tell me you two are really together now?”
“That’s nonsense!” Zhao Ying squinted as she said, “Senior Zhuo, quit causing trouble. Hurry up, pay for the food and leave!”
Zhuo Feiyang replied, “I don’t have money!”
“You don’t have money?” Zhao Ying laughed spontaneously. “What a joke!”
“I’m telling you, I really have none but I guess you’ll have to deal with it!” Zhuo Feiyang put his foot down and did not care about how he was being perceived at that point. He then spoke coldly, “This place belongs to Chu Li, so please don’t involve yourself in this. If you want the money, ask him to get it from me personally!”
“Senior Zhuo, you’re the one at fault here and you’re telling us what you’re doing is right?” Zhao Ying lashed out at him. “A hundred taels — quickly!”
“A hundred taels, that’s expensive?” Bai Zhijie interfered but he quickly realized he should not have done that, and he proceeded to shut his mouth.
Zhuo Feiyang sneered, “This Chu Li really is sly. Isn’t this daylight robbery? These dishes only filled half of my stomach and that costs a hundred taels?”
“The price of each dish was written clearly in the menu. If you think it’s expensive, then don’t order it!” Zhao Ying had clearly lost her patience. She continued, “I know you both intentionally ordered the more expensive ones because a typical table would only cost fifty taels. That’s it, please leave!”
“I don’t have money!” Zhuo Feiyang scoffed.
Zhao Ying waved her hand in the air and said, “Stop being a nuisance here, I will tell Senior Chu about this!”
“Master?” Bai Zhijie said hesitantly.
He was a bit taken aback by that. Initially, he wanted to wreak havoc in the pub and force Chu Li to show himself. So long as Chu Li continued to reject his challenge, he would come here once a day to cause trouble. Zhuo Feiyang wanted to stretch Chu Li’s patience to the limits!
Zhuo Feiyang creased his brows and stared at Zhao Ying.
Zhao Ying caressed her pretty face. “What’s wrong?”
Zhuo Feiyang smiled coldly and said, “Sister Zhao Ying, you’ve changed!”
Zhao Ying replied angrily, “Senior Zhuo, that’s what I should say to you!”
When Zhuo Feiyang had finished his Isolated Cultivation regime, the first thing he did was looked for her and defeated her. He wanted to seek revenge on his previous loss to her, but Zhao Ying looked down on guys who held grudges and had a narrow heart.
“When did I change?” Zhuo Feiyang replied at the accusation.
Zhao Ying waved him away. “Alright, that’s enough. This is a pub and you both have finished eating, so please leave. I am very busy here, I don’t have the time to fool around with you both.”
In actual fact, the pub belonged to the girls of the Raging Tiger Encampment. Chu Li had already made it clear since day one that every profit that the pub made would go to the girls, but Zhuo Feiyang came here today and ate a meal without paying. That was totally unacceptable!
Zhuo Feiyang was agitated by Zhao Ying’s attitude. “Fine then, tell Chu Li that if he wants the money, he can come and look for me!”
“I know, I know!” Zhao Ying waved him away impatiently.
Zhuo Feiyang got up slowly before he exited the Leisure Cloud Pub with Bai Zhijie.
He turned around and gave the pub one last look. From the outside, he could vaguely hear sounds of laughter coming from inside the pub. He scoffed and had a goal set deep in his mind — he would come back again tomorrow. He wanted to see how long Chu Li could bear with him. If he still would not fight him, he would continue with his ‘visits’ here!
Bai Zhijie said to him in a low voice, “Master, I didn’t know that Senior Zhao was there too.”
“Don’t talk about her!” Zhuo Feiyang snapped.
Bai Zhijie quickly shut his own mouth. He could not help but feel that the two of them were soundly defeated earlier. Senior Zhao Ying was Master Zhuo Feiyang’s only weakness. If she was not there to stop him, the pub would have already been thrown into a big mess.
…
It was early in the morning when the sunlight was radiant, there was an unusual commotion in front of the Great Martial Arts Hall.
There were about two hundred Protectors training there. Some wielded swords, others threw blades. A portion of sunlight was reflected off the weapons as they danced in the air; the silver flashes of light looked dazzling. Moreover, some practiced with batons, some with guns, and some others with odd weapons. There were also quite a few of them who were practicing with their fists and palms. However, all of them were occupied with their training of choice and one could occasionally hear their sharp exhales of “He” or “Ha”.
Zhuo Feiyang was practicing with his sword in one corner; his sword gave off flashes of light as white as snow. It was as if the mystical light and spiritual force had wrapped his body completely, shielding him from whatever ominous force from the outside.
Beside Zhuo Feiyang, Bai Zhijie was practicing with his sword too. His movements with the sword were swift, but it was incomparable to those of Zhuo Feiyang’s. In fact, his skills were inferior by a huge margin.
Ever since he was brought under Zhuo Feiyang’s wing, his swordsmanship had improved a lot. Though all in all, he was only beginning to stimulate and open up the powers that were hidden beneath his inner veins. Hence, his speed and strength were a lot weaker than his Master’s. The flash emitted by his sword was also less evident.
However, Bai Zhijie was quite satisfied with his current abilities. He would never compare himself with his Master, but when he compared himself to those of his level, he was already far ahead of the others.
As a small boat slowly got closer to the shore, a girl dressed in a pure-white gown got down from the boat gracefully and walked towards the training grounds.
Her skin was as fair as snow; her eyes bright and energetic. It was as if she was scrutinizing everyone from a high ground, exuding a majestic temperament.
She slowly arrived in front of Zhuo Feiyang and stood quietly beside him.
When Zhuo Feiyang saw the beautiful girl, his whole body was suddenly boosted by additional motivation — the light of his sword was shining brighter.
On the other hand, Bai Zhijie started to lose focus. He would steal a glance at her from time to time, all the while curious as to who the mysterious character was. Furthermore, it was his first time seeing such a pretty girl and he would never forget her beauty. Surely, she must be someone from the higher ranks.
His Master was a genius in martial arts, so it was no surprise if he could attract girls like her. However, it was the first time a girl was brave enough to get close to him like that. The mystical aura she had and the stunning beauty of her face had thrown Bai Zhijie into a state of restlessness. Though seeing that his Master was very focused with his training, he dared not interrupt him.
After a long while, Zhuo Feiyang seemed to be satisfied with his progress for the day and he withdrew his sword. He gave off a charming smile to the girl and said, “Sister, what brings you here?”
The girl calmly asked, “Are you Master Zhuo Feiyang?”
“Yes, that’s me!” Zhuo Feiyang gave a fist salute as he greeted her.
“That’s good,” the girl replied. “My name is Xue Ling. Today, I’m here on behalf of my Master to collect the debt that you owe him. It’ll be a hundred taels, thank you!”
“Hold on!” Zhuo Feiyang’s smile froze and he quickly said, “Who’s your Master?”
“My Master is none other than the great Chu Li,” Xue Ling answered as she gave a slight bow.
“Chu Li?” Zhuo Feiyang’s face turned gloomy as he said coldly, “You’re Chu Li’s servant?”
“That’s correct.” Xue Ling nodded. “Yesterday, the two of you ate at the Leisure Cloud Pub but didn’t pay the bill. My Master has sent me here to collect the money. You pay what you owe and that’s simple logic, isn’t it?”
Xue Ling’s temperament could attract people’s attention like a metal to a magnet as everyone at the training grounds was secretly admiring at her. Initially, they all envied Zhuo Feiyang’s fortune with girls, his talents, and his good looks. Which girl would not fall for him?
However, they did not see this coming. The girl did not come to worship Zhuo Feiyang, she was here to collect his debt. All of them could not help but laugh at him behind his back and it felt so good. More so, they could not resist the urge to sing praises of the girl and cry out in excitement.
Bai Zhijie quickly recovered himself and interfered. “Lady, please don’t accuse us without a proof! Since when do we owe you money?”
Xue Ling gave him a cold stare. “What’s the matter? Trying to deny it again?”
“That’s enough!” Zhuo Feiyang cut Bai Zhijie off and calmly replied, “Alright, I give it to Chu Li; he wins this round. Bai Zhijie, give her the money!”
Bai Zhijie stared blankly at Zhuo Feiyang, looking visibly disturbed.
Zhuo Feiyang scoffed at Bai Zhijie. “What’s the matter? You’re disobeying me now?”
In a low voice, Bai Zhijie hurriedly replied, “Master, I did not bring any money.”
“Fool!” Zhuo Feiyang glared at him and said, “Then hurry up, go back and take it!”
“Yes, Master!” Bai Zhijie quickly agreed before he turned away and left.
The entire atmosphere at the training grounds fell silent. Everyone else had heard their conversation and all of them bore looks that were gloating at him.
Zhuo Feiyang’s handsome face turned so gloomy that it looked like ice while he stared at Xue Ling in a hostile manner.
Xue Ling looked away, avoiding his stare.
Zhuo Feiyang sneered, “Since when did you become Chu Li’s servant girl?”
Xue Ling did not answer him, she just acted as if she did not hear him.
“You’re exactly the same as Chu Li!” Zhuo Feiyang glared at her. “What a waste of that beauty of yours!”
Xue Ling still remained as silent as a log.
This infuriated Zhuo Feiyang even more. He felt like he had become a laughing stock as he could feel all the mocking and gloating around him which almost consumed him. Now that everyone had known what had happened, he believed that by the end of the day, the news would have spread across the entire Public House.
‘Chu Li, with you and your cruel tricks, I will not let you off lightly!’
He let out a scream deep inside his heart and stared coldly at Xue Ling.
Xue Ling stood quietly at the side just like a jade statue, but she had attracted everyone’s attention.
The others were curious about this Chu Li that she spoke of. If he had such a servant girl, he must be of good fortune in which they were all envious of.
Bai Zhijie scurried back to the place, panting. He had two bank notes in his hands, each worth a thousand taels.
Immediately after Zhuo Feiyang took it from him, he picked one out and threw it on the ground. “Take it, it’s for Chu Li!”
Once he had done that, he turned around and walked away.
Xue Ling did not mutter a single word as she slowly bent down to pick it up. Her facial expression did not change as she left the place with the banknote.
The crowd shook their heads and sighed. Zhuo Feiyang may be a genius in martial arts, but his attitude was terrible. How could he treat a beautiful girl like that?
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